Breaking News: It’s now December 21, 2012 in New Zealand and they are reporting that they are still there and the world, apparently is not ending. Whew! Thanks for that, New Zealand!

International Developments

❖ As “many as 100,000 Palestinians” have fled the Yarmuk refugee camp in Damascus as warplanes began air strikes on the camp and rebels “expelled” most pro-Assad fighters. According to an AFP photographer on the Syrian-Lebanon border, “hundreds of Palestians were seeking to cross, mostly women, children and the elderly.”

❖ “Parts of Aleppo, much of Homs and even sections of Damascus are now in worse shape than even Sarajevo or Grozny ever were. The UN is trying to raise $520m to cater for the needs of the 4 million people, almost a quarter of Syria’s total population”. Photos. 73% of Americans polled are against US military intervention in Syria–unless the Syrian government uses or loses control of chemical weapons.

❖ Between 1968-73 Britain “forced removal of 1,500 Chagossians from the island of Diego Garcia” because the US wanted to put a military base there. Ever since, the Chagossians, now living in Britain and Mauritius, have been trying to get back to their homelands. Finally, the European Court of Rights in Strasbourg has ruled–against them.

❖ NYSE Euronext, parent of the New York Stock Exchange, is being sold to the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) for $8 billion. ICE is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

Politics USA

❖ Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Carl Levin (D-IL) and John McCain (R-AZ) have sent a letter to Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton expressing their “deep disappointment” with the movie Zero Dark Thirty, which they found “grossly inaccurate and misleading in its suggestion that torture resulted in information that led to the location of Usama bin Laden.”

❖ In the US, 12.2 million adults with no children at home were below official poverty levels in 2011, 5.6 of them received no form of aid “from any of the major five federal programs”, and 1.4 million received food stamps. Still, only 14% of Americans polled “supported cash help for able-bodied poor adults without dependent kids”, regardless of other factors that impact their ability to find and keep jobs. Statistics and case histories.

❖ Trauma for children continues as “Dozens of Mich. schools close amid threats, rumors”. Schools closed were in Genesee and Lapeer Counties, “north of Detroit”.

❖ “For the first time . . . a bipartisan conference committee agreed to include an amendment providing abortion coverage for military rape survivors in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).” [emphasis added]

Heads Up!

❖ Once upon a time, President Obama “condemned the [indefinite detention] powers . . . under the controversial section 1021” of the National Defense Authorization Act. Later, he learned to like and defend it. An amendment by Sens. Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rand Paul (R-KY), which passed 67-29, prevented detention “without charge or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the US apprehended in the US”. Somehow or other, though, that amendment was dropped during House-Senate conference–and US citizens have not been told why.

❖ Sheesh. Only 16% of earth’s human inhabitants have no religious affiliation and only 7% are Buddhist. You’d think with the world awash in religions, there might be some peace. And you’d be wrong.

❖ On this day in 1989, the US, under President George H. W. Bush, invaded Panama. Fascinating history involving the War on Drugs, the Iran-Contra Affair, the CIA, Soviet Union, etc. The Pentagon titled the action “Operation Just Cause” while in Panama it’s called ”La Invasion”.

22 Responses
to “The Roundup for December 20, 2012”

“If we are on the [business as usual] emissions trajectory, then the reefs are toast,” Caldeira says. In that case, all the reefs in the study were surrounded by water with Aragonite saturation below 3, dooming them. In that scenario, Caldeira says, “details about sensitivity of corals are just arguments about when they will die.”

And so, not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with the Newsdesk going dark, ends the worl

And good evening to the great Gothrykke. I’m just as shocked as I’m sure you were to learn that BP’s “spill” continues. Let us hope it gets the scrutiny and action it deserves from the proper authorities–and quickly.

Spamming strangers’ accounts? Facebook is becoming more of a Jokebook every day.

Loved the interview with Barney Frank, hadn’t seen it and do appreciate your bringing it here. Hope everyone will have the time to read/listen-watch it, too.

Oh, that’s wonderful, maa8722! And to think that young man went to all that trouble–boiling water and getting his cell phone primed for action–for the sole purpose of amusing the world. As we used to say, “The kids are all right.”

I looked up a bit, wikipedia, I think Toutatis deserves something better than an Asteroid..

“Toutatis or Teutates was a Celtic god worshipped in ancient Gaul and Britain. On the basis of his name’s etymology, he has been widely interpreted to be a tribal protector

“Teutates was worshipped especially in Gaul and in Roman Britain. Inscriptions to him have been recovered in the United Kingdom, for example that at Cumberland Quarries, dedicated to Jupiter Optimus Maximus and Mars Toutatis.] Two dedications have also been found in Noricum and Rome.”

also, A chinese satellite passed within a Few Kilometres of this asteroid. Part of their evil plans for asteroid domination.

I did not know that asteroids that have hit the planet, had Amino acids on them. VERY interesting.

Just sickening! Here you’ve posted that wonderful video of children and youth singing about letting gardens grow and then we learn of Rahmbo’s determined attempts to undermine, using typical underhanded tactics, a healthy community-supported effort to improve public schools in Chicago. Arrrrgh!